RichRelevance Shopping Insights™ Study Reveals How Social Networks Stack Up for Retailers

New research shows that Facebook dominates in socially driven shopping; Pinterest drives highest average order value

Shop.org – Denver, CO – Sept. 11, 2012 –– RichRelevance®, the leading provider of dynamic e-commerce personalization for the world’s largest retailers, today released a new Shopping Insights™ study that benchmarks the performance of major social channels - Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest – in driving traffic to retail sites. The research drills into nearly 700 million shopping sessions on leading U.S. retail sites to uncover which channels are driving the most traffic and sales.

The study, which is available as a downloadable infographic, finds significant variations in the way that consumers browse and purchase based on which social network sent them to the retail site. Key findings include:

Facebook dominates as a source of traffic: Shoppers who click-through from Facebook account for the overwhelming majority of shopping sessions at nearly 86% (85.8%), followed by Pinterest (11.3%) and Twitter (2.9%).

Shoppers who started at Facebook browse more - and buy more often: Shoppers who enter retail sites from Facebook tend to stay longer (nearly seven pages per visit vs. nearly three for Twitter and just over four from Pinterest) and purchase somewhat more frequently (conversion rates of 2.63%) than Pinterest (.93%) or Twitter (1.09%).

Pinterest drives larger orders - nearly double that of other social channels: While shoppers who come to retail sites from Facebook and Twitter purchase more often, Pinterest users spend dramatically more than either ($168.83 average order value vs. $94.70 for Facebook and $70.84 for Twitter).

“Every social network promises a new way of connecting consumers with retailers and brands,” said Diane Kegley, CMO of RichRelevance. “However, the big take-away from our research is that not all channels in the social space are created equal. As retailers and brands continue to sort out how to take advantage of social networks, this infographic provides great insight into better understanding the nuances of each channel, how they resonate with consumers and how marketers can take advantage of each in their own unique way.”

Methodology:
This infographic is based on data gleaned from more than 689 million shopping sessions that took place between January 1 and August 31, 2012 on select US sites that have deployed RichRelevance's retail recommendation software. The study includes only browser-based shopping sessions and does not include shopping that may originate from mobile app versions of these platforms.

Connect with RichRelevance on Facebook and Twitter for updates and news.

About RichRelevance
RichRelevance delivers over 850 million product recommendations daily, powering the personalized shopping experiences for consumers shopping the world’s largest and most innovative retail brands like Walmart, Sears, Target, Marks & Spencer and John Lewis. Founded and led by the e-commerce expert who helped pioneer personalization at Amazon.com, RichRelevance helps retailers increase sales and customer engagement by recommending the most relevant products to consumers regardless of the channel they are shopping. RichRelevance has delivered more than $5.5 billion in attributable sales for its retail clients to date, and is accelerating these results with the introduction of a new form of digital advertising called Shopping Media which allows brands to engage consumers where it matters most—in the digital aisles on the largest retail sites in world. RichRelevance is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York, Seattle, Boston and London. For more information, please visit www.richrelevance.com.

RichRelevance is the global leader in omnichannel personalization and is used by more than 230 multinational companies to deliver the most relevant and innovative customer experiences across web, mobile and in store. RichRelevance drives more than one billion decisions every day, and has generated over $20 billion in sales for its clients, which include Office Depot, Costco, Darty, and Marks & Spencer.

Headquartered in San Francisco, RichRelevance serves clients in 42 countries from 9 offices around the globe.